The present invention relates generally to panels for covering an external wall of a building, and more particularly to a prefabricated panel structure that has no specific orientation and may be easily mounted on supporting rails fixed on the wall.
In large commercial and institutional buildings of certain architectural styles, exterior panels of sheet-like form are used more and more. Those panels can be produced directly in factories and therefore may be rapidly installed on horizontal rails mounted on the facade of the building for this purpose.
Various panel structures have been designed to make such panel walls as easy to install as possible. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,461 (Sommerstein) discloses a panel mounting structure comprising a plurality of vertically adjacent panels removably mounted on supports, which are in turn mounted on the exterior wall of a building structure. Each panel of the panel structure has an upper edge portion and a lower edge portion each having a downwards open hook adapted to be in engagement with corresponding ribs on the supports. Care must however be exercised in installing such panels as each hook must be engaged with the proper rib. This system is also especially adapted for panels made of lightweight materials such as thin sheets of aluminum or steel, since the edges of the panel itself are preferably folded to form the appropriate engaging portions.
Other examples or related prior art are disclosed in the following documents: U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,715,848; 3,766,698; 3,866,374; 4,307,551; 4,614,069; 4,662,136; 4,685,263; 4,783,941; 5,083,405 and 5,369,924.
There is a need for a panel structure that is easier to install than existing prior art, and more particularly for a panel structure that has no specific orientation.
The complete disclosure of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/253,040 entitled xe2x80x9cWINDOW CASExe2x80x9d, filed by the same applicant and on the same day as the present application, is incorporated herein by reference.
An object of the present invention is to provide a panel structure that satisfies the above-mentioned need. Accordingly, the present invention provides a panel structure for covering a wall comprising a panel having a front surface and a back surface, a first edge and a second edge parallel to the first edge. A first frame member is secured to the back surface of the panel and extends along the first edge thereof. A second frame member is secured to the back surface of the panel and extends along the second edge thereof. The first and the second frame member each comprise a universal mounting portion, the mounting portion of the first and second frame member projecting away from the panel in longitudinal mirror symmetry to each other. Each mounting portion defines a first and a second connector. The first connector of each frame member is adapted to engage an upper horizontal support fixed on the wall as the edge of the panel associated with said first connector lies in an uppermost horizontal position. The second connector of each frame member is adapted to engage a lower horizontal support as the edge of the panel associated with said second connector lies in a lowermost horizontal position.
In this manner, the panel structure is vertically mountable on the wall with either one of the first and the second edge lying in an uppermost horizontal position.
Also, for the mounting portion of each of the first and second frame members, the second connector forms a hook adapted to engage a vertically extending engagement member of the lower support, and the first connector comprises a substantially horizontal limb extending from the second connector and projecting away from the panel. The horizontal limb is adapted to rest on a horizontally extending engagement member of the upper horizontal support, whereby the panel structure is mountable on the wall by first slightly tilting the panel and engaging the second connector associated with the edge of the panel lying in the lowermost horizontal position on the vertically extending engagement member of the lower support, and then rotating the panel structure around said vertically extending engagement member toward the wall to engage the first connector associated with the edge of the panel lying in the uppermost horizontal position on the horizontally extending engagement member of the upper horizontal support.
According to a preferred embodiment the panel has a third edge perpendicular to the first and second edges and a fourth edge parallel to the third edge. The panel structure further comprises a third frame member secured to the back surface of the panel and extending along the third edge thereof, and a fourth frame member secured to the back surface of the panel and extending along the fourth edge thereof. The first and the second frame member each comprise a universal mounting portion, the mounting portion of the third and fourth frame member projecting away from the panel in longitudinal mirror symmetry to each other. Each mounting portion defines a first and a second connector. The first connector of each frame member is adapted to engage an upper horizontal support fixed on the wall as the edge of the panel associated with said first connector lies in an uppermost horizontal position. The second connector of each frame member is adapted to engage a lower horizontal support as the edge of the panel associated with said second connector lies in a lowermost horizontal position.
Advantageously, in this embodiment the panel structure is vertically mountable on the wall with either one of the first, the second, the third and the fourth edge lying in an uppermost horizontal position.